eBay Silliness

[JoLin]

I've been looking for a spare prop set for my V-P Duoprop (original equipment is stainless F5's), and they're currently made of unobtainium. Everything is back-ordered from Europe for who knows how long. Tried finding the equivalemt in aluminum (D6) but no luck there, either. Had those back-ordered on iBoats ($799 for the pair- ouch)

A week ago, I saw a set of NIB stainless F5's pop up on eBay with a reserve of $499. The stainless props go for from $1300-1600 per set new, so I put it on my watch list and made a note to check in last night and maybe make a last-minute bid on them. I logged in 45 minutes before the auction ended, and the bid was up to $650.

I glance 3 items down on my 'search' page, and 2 hours before, somebody had put another set of F5's up for sale (spare props, 5 hours' use in fresh water, perfect condition), with a reserve of $500. and a 'Buy It Now' price of $625. I checked the part #'s for the 2 props, and yep, those're the ones. So, I 'bought it now'

I continued watching the other auction and by the time it ended, the 'winner' paid $1,076. for the same set.

How the heck was I the only one to spot the other pair? Not that I'm complaining, mind you... just seemed weird that there was nobody else in sight

 

[flycaster]

Re: eBay Silliness

check back and let us know when you receive those props.

 

[roscoe]

Re: eBay Silliness

Have seen similar stuff.

Funniest I have seen, several times.
A seller puts up 2 or 3 of the same item. First off, you think thats not so smart, as people won't get into a bidding frenzy if they see several more of the same item ending soon.

But what happens?
4 people will bid on the one ending soonest, driving the price up to say $200 when the auction ends.

An hour later, the second identical item ends and is won by a single bidder with an opening bid of $25.

What happened to the other 3 other bidders that were bidding on the first item?
Were they all shill bidders? Maybe, but I doubt it. If they were, why didn't they bid again to drive up the price on the second item?


I have also seen an item go for hundreds one day, and not get a bid a few days later.
But makes more sense since many people only look at listings occasionally, and only the "ending soonest".

 

[ufm82]

Re: eBay Silliness

Have you received the props? Scammers have "stolen" other auctions on the site and everything looks OK but it's a sham. You follow the auction, buy the stuff, pay the money and then nothing happens. No items, no refunds and the user is gone- no record of the auction on eBay's records. You've been scammed and don't know it. (not YOU specifically but you get my drift.)
I had one of my auctions "stolen" a few years back when I was selling an expensive piece of construction equipment. Unknown to me a bidder saw my auction and then found the exact same thing elsewhere for less. He bought that item and paid. He then contacted me about delivery. His name and info never showed up on my auction and I told him he didn't buy my item. He didn't think he had but the contact info he was sent was mine. How these things happen is beyond my non-hacking brain but it's been more and more common. I've even seen cars and boats listed on the site on a regular auction and then the exact same item shows up somewhere else with a stupid low "buy it now" price. That's how they do it- they "steal" your auction somehow and list it with their own payment info but it links back to yours somehow.

UFM82

 

[JoLin]

Re: eBay Silliness

I contacted the seller through eBay this morning, and I received a message from the seller (also via my eBay account sign-on), that he shipped today. The tracking number doesn't show yet at USPS, but they aren't as efficient as UPS and Fed Ex (I know that from experience).

I was on eBay, logged into my account, when I exercised the 'buy it now' option. Paid via Paypal, got all the right notifications in my private e-mail and eBay mailboxes, etc.

I'll keep you all posted, but I have no reason to suspect anything fishy is going on.

 

[Mntom]

Re: eBay Silliness

I had something similar happen when I needed a lower unit for my 70hp. I found and bid on five of them and lost every one at the last minute. I got mad and did another search and found one in Florida with a buy it now for $150 INCLUDING shipping! That was a couple of years ago and I am still running it!

 

[CN Spots]

Re: eBay Silliness

They could also be stolen props.

My step-bro scored a late 60's top loader 4 speed for 50 bucks. It was listed in the wrong area and he just stumbled upon it.

 

[JustJason]

Re: eBay Silliness

I've had some wins on ebay on stuff I got so rediculously cheap that I swear through some technical error that I was the only person in the world that could see the auction.

 

[JoLin]

Re: eBay Silliness

They could also be stolen props.

Geez, guy, anything anyone buys from any private party anywhere, could be stolen. If the props are in the condition advertised, I got a very good deal, that's all. It isn't like I'm paying 10 cents on the dollar out of the guy's trunk in a back alley...

Anyway, to update everybody, USPS tracking confirms the package was delivered to one of their depots yesterday morning in CA, and is on its way.

I'll let you know if they match the description ('perfect') as soon as they get here.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: eBay Silliness

I bought a set of "perfect" Volvo Duo-Prop propellors on Ebay. These perfect propellors were repaired so poorly by some hick prop shop that the 3 blades had all non matching pitch as verified by Wilmington propellor in Long Beach CA. I have bought other so called "good" propellors that were excellent! Its basically a crap shoot.

As far as E-bay pricing is concerned. I used to sell a lot of RC car parts. Amazing that people would pay way more than they could go to a discount online hobby store for.

 

[Beefer]

Re: eBay Silliness

I've been a seller (and buyer) on eBay since 1999. You wouldn't believe how many things I would buy at retail, not even on sale, and sell them for as much as double my money. There were a few instances where the price got so ridiculous (7x retail) that I was convinced I wouldn't get the money, but I did.

I'm going to bet the prop set JoLin bought is going to be as expected/as described, ie, well worth the money.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: eBay Silliness

Geez, guy, anything anyone buys from any private party anywhere, could be stolen. If the props are in the condition advertised, I got a very good deal, that's all. It isn't like I'm paying 10 cents on the dollar out of the guy's trunk in a back alley...

Anyway, to update everybody, USPS tracking confirms the package was delivered to one of their depots yesterday morning in CA, and is on its way.

I'll let you know if they match the description ('perfect') as soon as they get here.

Didn't mean to rub you the wrong way, just speculating.

 

[oops!]

Re: eBay Silliness

give ya 7 cash for em right now

 

[JoLin]

UPDATE - Re: eBay Silliness

UPDATE - Re: eBay Silliness

Well, the props finally arrived today and they are in fact 'perfect'. Indistinguishable from brand new. No nicks, no gouges, no 'bends', no stains... they look like they came right from the factory. So, for a total of $665. (shipping included), I got a brand new pair of stainless duoprops.

That's half the price of the cheapest set of brand new ones I found anywhere.

I still think eBay's kinda silly sometimes, but it can pay off

 

[Beefer]

Re: eBay Silliness

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: eBay Silliness

If you did a search for duo-prop and the seller had them listed as duoprop then you wouldn't have seen them, just an example, I wonder how many watchers kicked themselves in the butt for not buying now, the early bird gets the worm, and the last mouse got the cheese, good going.

 

[JoLin]

Re: eBay Silliness

Yeah, finding the right search term is everything.

After trying several of them I settled on 'F5' as my search criteria (and also 'D6', the aluminum 'equivalent'), as that's how Volvo sizes the duoprop sets. The letter-number combination is the common denominator in all sellers' descriptions, which makes sense- every Volvo prop set is stamped with it, along with the part number and the word 'front' or 'rear'.

It worked.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: eBay Silliness

Love those happy endings!....